The porosity of a restructured potato product ranged from 0.089 to 0.1
68 after fluctuating subfreezing storage temperatures. A linear relati
on was found between oil uptake during frying and porosity prior to fr
ying. Bulk and particle density, and porosity were monitored for up to
5 min during deep-fat frying. Particle density increased gradually, b
ulk density decreased and porosity increased noticeably. After an init
ial short period, oil uptake correlated linearly with porosity of the
fried product. A new term, ''net porosity'' which excluded the void vo
lume occupied by oil was developed for describing the oil uptake mecha
nism.